Gabriel Byrne is an Irish actor who became famous after the Coen brothers' crime drama Miller's Crossing. He played the mean and selfish Tom, a talented criminal.
Byrne has starred in Vikings, Gothic, The Common Suspects, and The Man in the Iron Mask.
Searching for a vocation
In May 1950 in Dublin, a son was born into a family of a nurse and a worker. Among all of Gabriel's relatives, there was no one who would be associated with the world of art.
The boy became the eldest in the family. After him, the parents had five more children. They brought up everyone in strict Catholicism.
As a child, Gabriel considered becoming a priest. After school, he entered seminary. From there, a sixteen-year-old student was expelled for bad behavior.
Gabriel didn't regret it at all. After returning home, Byrne entered the Faculty of Linguistics and Archeology at the University of Dublin.
In his spare time, Gabriel played on the football team of the local club. The young man tried to look everywhere for his vocation.
He was a cook, teacher, archaeologist. Byrne spent the longest time in teaching. He taught Spanish with literature.
Theater and cinema
After graduating from university, he began to write. His drama was filmed in 1996 and shown on television in Ireland.
In 1976, Byrne made his theatrical debut. The young man took part in the production of the experimental "Project Theater".
The earnings of a novice actor turned out to be very modest, but he finally decided on what to do next.
Fortune smiled at Byrne in 1978. He was accepted into the troupe of the Abbey Theater in Dublin.
A year later, the aspiring actor was already playing at the Royal Theater in London. The fame of the performer at the same time brought film roles.
For the first time he got to the shooting in the film "Riding on the cobblestone pavement". After the project, the artist was offered to play one of the key characters in the "Riordan" drama series about the everyday life of Irish peasants.
The series was canceled in 1979. This was the reason for the artist to move to London. Byrne was able to declare himself in the film "Excalibur". Viewers saw the film in 1981.
The actor played King Uther, the father of the legendary Arthur. A little screen time was allotted to his hero, but the audience remembered the talented performer.
Film career
The artist began to act actively in the eighties. One after another came out pictures and series with his participation. The clever Israeli diplomat in Hannah K, the German soldier in The Fortress, the war drama - all the characters worked brilliantly.
Together with the famous actor Richard Burton, Byrne starred in a mini-series about the life of Wagner. The first leading role went to Byrne in 1986.
He played a journalist in Defense of the Empire. An ambitious reporter wrote a bombshell sensational article.
The mini-series "Christopher Columbus" became an interesting work. In it, the artist reincarnated as the most famous traveler.
In the nineties, intense work continued. Increasingly, films and TV series with Gabriel's participation were shown on the screen.
Such popularity is directly related to the success of the Coen film "Miller's Crossing", where the directors told about the everyday life of American gangsters.
In 1995 he wrote his autobiography "Pictures in My Head", and in 2008 the author released the biographical film "Stories from Home".
Confession
In 1998, the actor performed in several roles. He became a co-producer, co-writer and performer on The Last of the Great Kings.
The most striking were three works of that period in Smilla's Snowy Feeling, The End of Violence and The Polish Wedding. The hero of Byrne became a cunning adviser to the mafia boss in the film.
In the touching dramatic project "To the West" the actor appeared in the form of a suffering widower who had to raise two children alone.
In "The Assassin," the performer is transformed into an elusive secret agent. In Dangerous Woman, he portrayed a hero hiding a simultaneous relationship with two mistresses.
In Little Women, Byrne was offered the role of professor of philosophy. In "The Man in the Iron Mask" the role of the famous actor got a secondary role.
And in the film "Suspicious Persons" Gabriel had a chance to try on the guise of Dean Keaton, a crook. By the time of the millennium, Byrne found himself in diametrically opposed roles.
He played a priest in "The Stigmata", and in "End of the World" he reincarnated as Satan. In the same year, the actor returned to the stage of the theater and played in the play "Camelot" of King Arthur.
Living in the present tense
The performer met the new century with a list of proposals for participation in psychological or historical dramas. The artist became an alcoholic father trying to raise his son for the tape "Wow-wow". The hero is trying to decide on a life partner, choosing her from two women who are interested in him.
In the 2008 TV series The Treatment, Byrne became the psychotherapist Paul Weston. According to the plot, the hero has problems in his personal life due to his obsession with the profession. The performer was awarded the Golden Globe for his work.
Opposing Ragnar Lothbrok, the actor became the Jarl in "Vikings". The game was rated very highly.
In real life, Gabriel has been married twice. Ellen Barkin became the first choice of a celebrity. The famous artist met her while working on the painting "Lion's Heart". The family had two children. Gabriel and Ellen became the parents of daughter Romy Marion in 1992 and son John "Jack" Daniel in 1989.
In 1998, the American actress became Gabriel's wife officially. A year after the birth of their daughter, the couple broke up. However, the official divorce was formalized only in 1999. The ex-spouses kept friendly relations. The actor devotes a lot of time to raising children.
The second wife of the performer was Hannah Beth King. So far, the husband and wife do not have common children.
Gabriel Byrne is on the list of the sexiest modern men, and is also included in the list of the hottest celebrities in their fifties.
- Byrne spends most of the year in New York, where he first arrived in 1987. Since 2004, the actor has been elected Ambassador of Ireland to UNICEF.
- He often takes part in actions related to the protection of human rights.
- At the 2007 Dublin International Festival, the actor was awarded the Volta Prize for his contribution to art. Byrne is Professor Emeritus at the Irish National University.
